Confidence!
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Naruto's back! And Hinata's dying to see him, wanting to tell him her true feelings for him, that she has kept hidden for so very long...NaruxHina! My FAVORITE Pairing!
1. Hinata's True Feelings!

She shot through the streets, a pink blur of motion as she heard the news. _'Naruto's back! I can't believe it! It's already been three years..._

A smile lit her face as she was looking forward to finding him and seeing how much he had changed over the years. _'I wonder if he's matured..._

She remembered how quiet the village had been with him gone, and looked forward to seeing him liven things up a bit upon his return. She finally arrived at the village gates and stopped as she laid eyes on him for the first time in three years. There he was, standing atop the roof of them, gazing out over the village, a wide grin on his face as the wind blew his blond hair. "Ah, it's SO good to be home again!"

His voice was filled with mirth as he said this. He gave a content sigh and crossed his arms behind his head, failing to notice Sakura. Jiraiya stood next to him, and grinned ans he nudged Naruto in the side with one elbow and pointed to the the Hokage monument.

He could barely hold back his laughter as he saw it: "Hey look at the Stone faces!"

Naruto turned his gaze on the Hokage faces, and raised a blond eyebrow in amusement. What they saw was this: Tsunade's face had been added to the four Hokage's, but someone had defaced all five of them know, and Naruto had a pretty good idea as to who the culprit was. "It looks like Konahomaru has been following in my footsteps as a prankster."

Jiraiya nodded as they watched Ebisu chase the teenager their way, kicking up a large cloud of dust as he did so. Naruto watched the new genin easily evade the special Jonin's attempts to capture him again and again, and he restrained a chuckle at the boy's antics. "Yep. He's just like me when I was his age." Then he glanced down and saw Sakura. He grinned and raised a hand in greeting to her, then leapt down to land right in front of her.

The Haruno gasped as she watched him rise to his feet, he was now several inches taller than her. She found herself at a loss for words, and berated herself mentally for this. _'Stupid! Say something! It's just Naruto!'_

But she still found herself unable to speak. Naruto grinned down at her and leaned forward, placing a hand on top of her pink hair, his saphire blue eyes crinkling in a smile. She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was happy to see her after such a long time, and he seemed to be _heaps _more confident, if he was actually daring to get this close to her. "It looks like I 'm taller than you know, Sakura-chan. Did you shrink when I was gone?"

She frowned at his comment, and instinctively lashed out at him with a fist. Naruto grinned and caught it with his free hand, his tone chastising the Haruno. "Now Sakura-chan, that wasn't very nice. I was just talking to you, and here you are trying to bop me over the head."

She blushed at this chastisement, and suddenly realized how close his face was to hers. _'Does he even know what he's doing? He's so close..._

At that moment, Naruto removed his hand from her head, releasing her wrist in the process. He smiled as he gave her a quick once over, making her blush again. "So how have you been?. Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Sakura grinned as she revealed that almost everyone had become Chunin while he was away. Naruto grinned as well as he informed her that Tsunade had mad him a Chunin when he returned from his journey a few hours before everyone knew. "The only reason I don't have my vest right now is because I wanted them to make mine...special."

She raised an eyebrow at this new Naruto. _'He's completely different from before. He actually looks kinda... handsome... _Now _she_gave him a quick once over and he smiled when he caught her doing so, his voice laced with amusement."Sakura-chan, are you checking me out?"

Deciding to change the subject, she smiled and answered with a question of her own, her tone deliberately unsure. "Naruto, do I look any different to you? More... grown-up?

Now she controlled her blush as she said it, making her face turn a pale pink as Naruto gave his response, his voice warm. "Yeah, Sakura. You're even more beautiful than when I left." Then his ears pricked and he grabbed her arm, spinning her towards him as one _very _excited Konahamaru landed where she had been standing mere moments before.

The excited genin grinned as he saw Naruto, the young teen was practically bursting with joy. "Boss! You're back!" Then his gaze fell on Sakura, who was held tightly in Naruto's arms. His grinned as his tone became that of someone who _thinks _that they know whats going on. "And you landed a girlfriend already?!" He flashed his pearly whites in a wide grin and closed his eyes, giving him a thumbs up. "NICE! That's just like you boss! Your always getting all the girls!"

Sakura turned beet red at this, and Naruto gave a sigh smiling as he did so. He gently let go of Sakura, and turned to face his young friend. "Konahamaru, Sakura-chan and I are just friends, nothing more." Then, the next part he said, made Sakura go as stiff as a board. "And I have my eye on someone else anyways."

But before Konohamaru could as who it was, Naruto turned to Sakura, a knowing smile on his face, and she saw that _this _time he seemed truly happy for her. "Besides, Sakura-chan said she loves Sasuke. Right Sakura?"

The poor Haruno was taken a back by this, and in both a good and a bad way. Part of her was glad that he had taken her words to heart, and another was sorry that he had seemingly given up on her, just like Lee had so many years ago after Tenten told him that she loved him. _'He's giving up on me? And why do I actually feel sad about that? And who does he have his sights set on? URGH! What is WRONG with me?!'_

Shaking it off as nothing, she watched as Konohamaru showed off Naruto's original technique, the Sexy Jutsu. As soon as he turned into the smoke covered woman, Jiraiya immediately got a _huge _nosebleed, and Sakura's jaw dropped at the jutsu. _'Why you little pervert!'_

She was about to bop him into the ground, but first she focused on Naruto, half expecting her teammate to congratulate the new genin for his achievement.

Naruto however had a different reaction than she expected. He just smiled an shook his head, a bemused smile on his face. "Hey, I'm to old to be soing such childish things Konohamaru. And you should know better." Konohamru's jaw dropped, and he released the jutsu. Sakura smiled at this new display of maturity, and nodded.

"He's right. Such perverted acts disgrace women. You should be ashamed of yourself." The genin hung his head, but Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, and grinned as he handed the boy a scroll, his tone serious. "Here, try learning _this _jutstu. It's an A-rank jutsu known as the Rasengan. The fourth Hokage's very own jutsu."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this, as Naruto explained the three steps and so on. Konohamaru was in awe of the parchment he held now. "Really?! This is the Yodaime's _original _jutsu?! Thanks Boss! You rock!"

_'Wow Naruto. You really have grown up.' _ The sanins then saw Sakura fidgeting out of the corner of his eye, stealing glances at her blond teammate. He grinned as the teen bid her farewel and took off to find the rest of his old friends AND find the girl he REALLY wanted to see right now. _'And it looks like he's becoming quite the ladies man.'_

--

Hinata raced through the village, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, as she made her way around the village, a blur of movement, barely visible to the naked eye. She was so looking forward to see him again.

THIS time, she was determined NOT to faint, to speak her heart to him. To tell him what she had wanted, had TRIED to tell him for so very, very long. That she loved him. Her face was filled with eager excitement and anticipation, as she landed on the street, creating a small puff of dust as her sandaled feet hit the dirt, from her leap off a roof, and took off into a run as soon as she hit the ground, racing through the streets and around or over startled pedestrians and cart vendors.

But she had no idea how to say it now! "Naruto-kun, I've missed you so much," or "Naruto-kun, I have to tell you something", what should she say, and more importantly...HOW?!

But she HAD to say it, even though she was so nervous as to what might happen.

Boy was she in for a surprise...


	2. I Found You!

Naruto sratched his head in exasperation as he skidded to a halt at Ichiraku, the action kicking up a small cloud of dust behind him as he looked to the left and right of himself. "Agh! Where the blazes is she?! I've looked everywhere for her, and I STILL haven't found her!" Pausing to lean against the outside wall, he began wracking his brain for places that he had yet to check.

_'Let's see... Training grounds. Check. Ichiraku. Check. Village gates. Check. Hot Springs..._

He slapped himself on the face as a perverted thought of her in a towel sneaked into his head. " NANI?! Why am I thinking about THAT?! Blasted Ero-Sennin! He's going to turn ME into a pervert at this rate!" Sighing in annoyance, he began to walk to the left, hands at his sides as he looked through the crowd of passerby, looking for any sign of Hinata, but either she was hiding from him, or he was just looking in the wrong places..

AGAIN the thought of her in a towel snaked into his head, drawing a small trickle of blood down from his nose. Then he shook his head rapidly, whipping the blood away, and clearing his head. "No! I am not going to think of that! Besides, I haven't even seen her in three years!"

Then a terrible thought entered his mind, and this one did not involve any towels. "What if she found somebody else while I was gone?"

That train of thought caused him to increase his pace, from a walk, into a run, as he ran to yet another place he hadn't looked, the LAST place he had to check. The Stone Hokage Faces. He DREADED the thought of her being already taken. He didn't want to even THINK about it. "PLEASE don't let that her have a boyfriend. Please...

--

Hinata was equally frustrated, wringing her hands in front of her as she halted her run in front of Ichiraku. "Naruto-kun? Where are you?" She had also looked just about everywhere, and it was driving her crazy, these feelings that had welled up inside her, stronger than ever, as soon as she heard the news of his return. She wanted to see him so badly it hurt.

She had looked for him first at his house.

Nothing.

Then she checked the training grounds.

Zilch.

And she didn't even dare to THINK about the hot springs, as she got those NASTY thoughts of him with there with Sakura in her head.

Dear Kami, if he had hooked up with that slut already, if that Haruno had stolen HER Naruto-kun away, she was going to _scream!_

That, and beat the living tar out of her.

As a matter of fact, she felt like screaming and crying with despair right now, as she ran her hands through her now long navy blue hair, careful not to pull it out, but the stress was rapidly building and now she was _terribly _afraid that he was off somewhere with Sakura, doing-

_'No! I'm not going to even THINK about that!'_So instead she looked every which way, as she leaned against the Ramen restaurant, in the exact place where he had been just moments before. The stress and worry were evident in her soft voice and her face as she racked her brain, wondering where on earth he had gotten to."Kami, where could he be?"

A voice soon answered her, startling her out of her thoughts, and nearly causing her to whip out a shuriken and chuck it at the voice. "Are you looking for Naruto?"

She jumped up in surprise, and spun round to face Ayame the daughter of the owner of Ichiraku. For a time, she had disliked the redhead, but after she had seen that Naruto displayed no romantical interest in her, the Hyuuga had felt at ease, and now the two girls were the best of friends, and Hinata often confided in her. "Hai. Have you seen him?"

The woman, older than her by one year nodded, her long straight red hair bouncing up and down as she did so. "Sure did! He was here just a second ago!"

Hinata's heart skipped a beat, as she held her hands over her now fully blossomed chest, having grown fully into womanhood over the past three years. Where once she had always worn a thick and heavy tan jacket, she now wore a purple sleeveless one, the light material thinner and clinging to her large chest. And over it was a light vest Chunin flak jacket that she wore over it as well, indicating that she was a Chunin, having defeated Sakura in the finals, to become one, as had all the rest of the rookie nine, with the exception of Naruto.

She also now wore black baggy pants, not jeans, nor sweats, but a cross between the two, the fabric light and soft, and ending just below her knees as it fit her snugly, her shuriken holster strapped to her left leg, whilst her kunai holder was on the right. She was now at least 5 '11, near the six foot mark, and she was ANYTHING but meek now, having made it her goal to prove herself to everyone in the village whilst Naruto was away, and now that he had come home, now that he had FINALLY returned, she was dying to see him again, and that much was evident in her voice, as her pale eyes were excited and eager.

"Did you see which way he went Ayame-san? I've been looking for him all over the village!"

Her best friend nodded and hooked her thumb over her shoulder to the left, whilst she adjusted the hat of her uniform on her head. "He went left just a minute ago. It looked like he was trying to find someone."

Hinata felt the dread begin to build in her chest, as she numbly thanked Ayame, and took off to the left, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake.

Ayame sweat dropped at that, then went back to helping her father make ramen. "Poor thing. I hope she finds Naruto soon. Those two would make the perfect couple...

Hinata darted through the streets, a violet blur of movement, apologizing to the people in the crowded streets as she bumped into them, running as fast as she could, trying to get to the one place where she could see EVERYTHING in the village. Then she would be sure to find her beloved Naruto-kun.

Finally, the crowded streets proved to be too much for her, and after apologizing to a cart vendor for nearly knocking over his wares, she leapt to a rooftop, making much faster progress as she sprang across the roofs, moving incredibly fast as she saw the Hokage faces in the distance. If she could get up there, she would be sure to see where he was.

Her face betrayed a multitude of emotions: Joy, fear, excitement, and worry as she ran at top speed, a blur of movement as the sun began to set in the autumn sky, a fading disk of red and orange as it began to sink below the horizon. She only prayed that he wasn't looking for Sakura...

--

Naruto sighed as he discarded his jacket, removing it from his tone chest, the heat proving to be too much for him. Tying it around his waist now, he stood atop the Hokage faces, standing on the head of the first Hokage, and peering around the village with a pair of binoculars. "Where are you... He muttered to himself as he looked down at the village, annoyed as heck, as he saw it begin to get dark. "I am SO having bad luck today...

Then he heard a startled gasp, and he felt his body go rigid as he heard an all too familiar voice, sounding older, but he knew it was still her. Slowly, he removed the binoculars from his eyes and turned to look to the right of him, her name forming on his lips, but he was unable to speak as he got a good look at her, in all her radiant beauty, that he had only come to appreciate once he was gone for those three years of training.

She was standing right next to him, less than a foot away, and looking _right at him _with those lovely lavender pale eyes of hers.

Finally, he DID speak, and Hinata placed both hands over her heart as he spoke, feeling it skip a beat as she heard his new voice, deeper now, more masucline, contrasting hers, which was now more soft and smooth, more feminine.

"Hinata...

Then she remembered the reason she came here, and she knew full well that if they were caught up here by the Anbu, they would be in huge trouble.

But right now, she didn't give a damn about the Anbu.

Clearing her throat, and with her new-found courage, she finally spoke, and Naruto found himself enraptured by her soft and sweet voice, as well as transfixed by her beauty.

She had grown up.

And so had he.

Sitting down, he heard her words as she mirrored him, sitting down atop the head of the first as well, their legs dangling over the end: "Naruto-kun, you're back You're really, finally back."

All he could manage was a: "Yeah."

Kami! Why couldn't he just talk to her?! He had done that easily enough before he left, so why-

He rebuked himself for that. He already knew the answer, as she scooted to the left, drawing closer to him.

He had fallen in love with her. How ironic was that? He hadn't seen her in THREE years, and somehow he had fallen for her? Talk about tacky.

But tacky or not, he knew this to be true. He liked her. Really, REALLY liked her.

She spoke first, and he nearly fell of the head of the First, so surprised was he at her new-found confidence. He NEVER expected HER to say what she said to him: "Naruto-kun, would you like to go out on a date with me tonight?"

She found herself giggling as he nearly fell, catching himself before he did, and his momentary anger was swept away as he watched and heard her laughter. Taking a deep breath, as HE was the nervous one now, he nodded slowly. "S-Sure. How about I pick you up at seven?"

Hinata looked at her watch, and her eyes widened. It was 6:15.

Turning to him now, she nodded once, and spoke, a million words a minute. It sounded like this:"Ohmygoshihavetogethomeandgetchangedwaitformethereokay?" He blinked once, and managed a nod as his brain caught up to what she had just said. "Er..Okay. I'll wait for you there."

Hinata nodded and with a quick hug, which made him turn BEET red as her bosom pressed against his chest, she took off, running down the stone wall, and leaping off it, with a loud and joyful declaration as she sprang into the air. "I DID IT! I ASKED NARUTO-KUN OUT! YATTA!"

He sat there for a second, and then started to laugh, long loud and hard, for a good minute or two, before he made his way down the wall, and to his house to get changed out of his sweat soaked outfit...


	3. Defiance

(Hyuuga Compound)

Hinata ignored her father best she could, as she got ready for her night out.

She could feel his eyes on her, as she donned in a particularly _stunning _outfit, that she knew her blond boyfriend would love, yet it was moderate enough to not be called skimpy.

He remained silent, but eventually, he spoke.

"Going out?"

She had not forgotten his words of last night, nor did she intend to let him stand in the way of her happiness.

"Yes father."

"With whom, might I ask?"

He already knew, but apparently, he wanted to hear _her _say it.

And so she did, rather forcefully, glaring at him, via her mirror, her eyes hardening, crystalline with willpower

"With Naruto-kun."

"I forbid it."

"And I refuse to listen." Came her even reply, as she spread some eyeshadow upon her eyes.

"You are my daughter, and you will do as you are told." A forced tone entered his voice.

Annoyed, she slapped both hands down upon the makeup table, her back still to him.

"With all due respect father, I am not a child anymore."

She turned round, showing off her outfit, which fit snugly against her body, much like a glove.

"I am a young woman, and I can, no- I _will_ date Naruto-kun, with or without your permission."

xx

He had been waiting for nearly an hour.

The door opened, and his jaw nearly fell to the floor, as an entirely different Hinata Hyuuga emerged.

Where once she had always worn a thick and heavy tan jacket, she now wore a purple sleeveless halter top dress, that ended a few inches above her knees

The one piece purple dress was lovely, and the light material was thinner clinging to her large chest, whilst her rear, now round and smooth, no longer flat in _any _way, was accentuated further by the clingy material.

"Shall we go?"


End file.
